Category Archives: 2017 Repeal Exclusions!

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Our substantial bill passed in the Assembly but did not come to a floor vote in the Senate. Legislative sessions are two years long, however, and so an active bill in June 2017 will be taken up again in January of 2018. The bill (A8409 in the Assembly and S6828 in the Senate (read the details here)) covered a lot of ground benefitting the community and still has a very good chance of being signed into law as long as we keep up the pressure.

Between all the phone calls and visits to Albany and district offices around the city, NYCLT has made many new allies in the ranks of the state and city government. We also ended up in productive negotiations with the administration of the city itself, over and above the support, we already had from several of the more sympathetic members of the City Council. We also found some sympathetic ears in Governor Cuomo’s office, and are hoping to be able to bring the weight of the state’s highest office to bear on this issue.

While we continue to build support for the bill in 2018 we have a few other efforts underway to protect tenants. We are drafting a sign-on letter from state representatives to Dept of Buildings Commissioner Chandler and the Loft Board, asking them to withhold final judgement on cases that would have a different outcome if S6828 passes (mostly people with coverage issues relating to windows, basements, or the application deadline – if you are one of those tenants contact us)

And, we are working with supportive City Council members to put pressure on the Mayor to address this issue. The mayor actually has considerable power when it comes to the Loft Board that he has so far not exercised in any way, shape or form.

What you can do NOW to help

Before July 20th (the next Loft Board meeting): Call (212) 393-2616 andsend a letter to the Loft Board requesting that they hold off on passing any judgments on coverage cases with window, basement, or use group exclusions while they revise the rules.

Attend the next Loft Board meeting on July 20th. Bring a sign requesting the same thing you asked for when you called and wrote.

Send personal letters to the Governor explaining why live-work spaces are vital to the city and how Governor Cuomo can make a difference at the end of his term (the Governor has the power to make it all happen at any moment!)

Fortunately, NYS legislators will be called back for a special session this summer. This gives tenants an additional window of opportunity to get our bill (S6826) through the Senate and onto the governor’s desk!

Latest Updates

As you may have heard A4809 – The Loft Law Clean Up Bill – passed the Assembly. Hooray!

Then things got rich: Literally at the 11th hour before the 2017 legislative session adjourned at 1:00am Thursday morning, we convinced Senators Squadron and Dilan to introduce a “same as” Bill in the Senate. This means we now have a Senate version of the bill called S6828 (it’s the “same as” Assembly Bill A8409).

Now we need some seriously fancy footwork to get The Loft Law Clean Up Bill passed. Rumor has it that there are two possibilities for our legislators to get called back to vote in Albany possibly next week (and possibly in August). That means there are cracks in the door which we might be able to kick open if we have the tenacity.

We need to put massive pressure on –

Assembly Speaker Heastie

IDC Leader Senator Klein

Senate Majority Leader Flanagan

Governor Cuomo

These are the infamous “4 men in a room” that make all the deals in state government. If enough of us reach out to them and make our voice heard, our issue will be on the table. We have specific scripts for reaching out to each of them. Get family and friends around NY State to do the same thing.

If you know people who live in the districts represented by: Speaker Heastie, Senators: Klein, Flanagan, Golden, Savino, and Lanza please ask them to contact their Senators and Assembly members. Look up your representative here